The History of Hydroponics

Where did hydroponics come from?

Hydroponics is a modern technology with roots in the origin of Earth. In fact, hydroponics is the oldest form of growing with ocean-going photosynthetic algae and photosynthetic bacteria actually existing before terrestrial plants, helping to produce the oxygenated environment we breathe today.

Modern hydroponics was developed from the findings of experiments carried out to determine plant composition dating back to the early 1600’s, but plants were being grown in soilless culture far earlier than this, even if it was not identified directly as hydroponics. The worlds rice crops have been grown hydroponically from time immemorial, as they are to this day.

The first known instance of water-based hydroponics is in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The gardens thrived off of an elaborate watering system that supplied a steady stream of river water rich in oxygen and minerals. Located on the East bank of the Euphrates River near present day Baghdad, the gardens were built by King Nebuchadnezzar II (604–562 BC) to please his wife Amyitis.

Similarly, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics dating back to several hundred years BC depict the growing of plants along the Nile River without soil, as do the floating gardens of the Chinese, as…